"What’s that supposed to mean?"
"Aurora allowed Karma to escape. If I hadn’t found her, there’s no telling what could have happened to her."
"And yet JJ did get to her, and under your watch."
Michael’s fingers tighten around his glass; the skin around his mouth tightens. "Watch what you say,fratellino," he warns in a low voice.
"You know it’s true," I insist.
"The fuck you trying to tell me, brother?" he growls.
"Just that it’s time you forgave Aurora. Especially now that she’s going to become family."
"Is that right?" He looks me up and down, "You expect me to believe that you’ve fallen in love with her and want to marry her in a matter of weeks?"
"Hell, you did the same thing with Karma, didn’t you?"
He blows out a breath, "That was different," he rubs the back of his neck. "I kidnapped her—"
"Then held her captive and had her marry you to repay her father’s debt."
"Your point being?" He glowers at me.
"You fell in love with Karma the moment you saw her. Why can’t you believe that the same holds true for me?"
"Because you are only marrying her to save her life, and perhaps to get Nonna off your back. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this entire charade is one elaborate farce just so you can ultimately buy your freedom so none of us bother you about settling down.
"Your point being?" I arch an eyebrow.
"It’s too soon after Xander’s death. At least, give it a little more time to make sure that you are confident about your feelings."
"I am." I raise a shoulder. "I appreciate your concern,fratellone, but you are worrying unnecessarily. Aurora and I love each other. We want to marry, and we’d love your blessings … or not."
He rakes his gaze across my features, then as if satisfied with whatever he sees he nods. "Fine, but I’m going to be watching the two of you."
"Is that brotherly love or you two simply happy to see each other?" Luca’s voice sounds from the doorway.
I glance up as he prowls over to the bar to join us. He’s closely followed by Massimo, Seb, and Adrian.
"That," I scowl, "was a terrible joke, even for you."
"Just trying to break the tension." He raises a shoulder. "Don’t blame me, I don’t have much practice. Normally, I’d count on Xander to lighten the atmosphere but"—he stiffens— "shit, didn’t mean to bring up his name." He peers into my features. "I swear, Christian, I am sorry."
"I’m not going to break if you talk about him, you know," I say mildly. I curl my fingers around my glass with such force that my knuckles strain.
"It’s okay to miss him," Massimo comes up to stand next to him. "Hell, we all do, but it must be particularly hard on you, considering he was your twin."
"Hard?" I laugh. "Why should it be hard? Xander had his own life, and I had mine. He was the one who felt everything deeply. The curse of an artist, I suppose. Likely, if I had been the one who was killed, he would have fallen apart. But me?" I curl my lips. "I’m made of stronger stuff. Hell, we all know that being in the Mafia it’s possible that our lives could come to an end at any time. It just so happens that Xander was the first to bear the brunt of it."
"Is that what you think?" Seb murmurs. "That he was just unlucky enough to be at the wrong place at the wrong time?"
"Or the right place." I survey the contents of my glass. "He was in the prime of his youth, not even thirty yet, and he’s gone. Think about it." I glance between their faces. "We’ll forever remember him as young and beautiful. The gorgeous golden boy who we all knew was too good to be true. If there had been one person whose heart was genuine, whose spirit was always ready to help others, who felt every emotion so deeply that he had to take it out on his canvas… Hell, he was the man who helped old ladies across the street and rescued kittens. His sense of empathy was so big, his spirit so pure, both men and women were attracted to him. He was simply… Too good to be true. If he had lived longer, he would have probably simply been taken advantage of—"
"Or his goodness would have rubbed off on the rest of us," Adrian interrupts me. "He was the one man who, despite having grown up among us, in the heart of the Mafia, still managed to not be touched by the violence and death that we deal with every day."
"Until the same violence and death came for him." I toss back my drink, then set the glass on the table with a thump. "We couldn’t protect him from his fate. I couldn’t protect my own twin from the very evil that lurked within our family. Each of us were tainted by our father. The only person he didn’t ever touch physically or emotionally was Xander. Every time Xander caught his eye, I managed to distract him. I took the punishment meant for him. I knew if our father ever got to Xander, he’d be hurt in a way that he would never be able to recover from. I thought that once we were grown up our father wouldn’t be able to touch us. I was wrong. I should’ve known that it was too good to be true. I should’ve never stopped protecting him."
"It’s not your fault." Luca grips my shoulder. "We—all of us—should have realized what our father was capable of. We all underestimated him."